Cerebral Palsy Patient Trains for the Triathlon

For Robert Hammer Jr., competing in the Salty Dog triathlon isn't a matter of winning or losing.

He's set a goal for finishing the course.

"I will get through," he said. "It's just how long it will take. I'm not trying for speed."

The sixth annual Salty Dog competition in August, co-sponsored by the Hutchinson Recreation Center and the Recreate for Life Foundation, will be held in Carey Park. Competitors will swim 400 meters, bike 10.5 miles and end with a 3.1-mile run.

Hammer, 48, of Lyons, born with cerebral palsy that has affected his knees, legs and ankles, is confident he can stay with the pack in the swimming and biking divisions.

The challenge comes in the running category. He'll compete in a borrowed racing wheelchair.

With help from his father, also Robert Hammer, they've customized the lightweight chair's steering lever to give him maximum control on the curves.

On Sunday, Hammer wheeled his way across two-thirds of the Carey Park course in a practice run. The extra length added to the steering lever helped.

"I didn't have to bend over to control it," he said.

Hammer's doctor, David Liska, inspired him to enter the Salty Dog after he competed in it for the past two years.

"I asked him what he thought my chances were, and he told me 'You can do it,' " Hammer said.

An experienced triathlon competitor himself, Liska described his patient, nicknamed "Hammerman," as fiercely independent and a terrific person.

"He has the determination and the inner strength to do it," Liska said.

Hammer maintains upper body strength through workouts in his home gym. He bench presses up to 100 pounds as a personal safety measure.

"If I don't keep up the muscles in my upper body and I fall, it messes me up," he said.

Those falls come when he trips on a carpet or makes a misstep while he's walking.

Because of his disability, Hammer figures he has to compensate by working harder than the other entrants.

In a demonstration of his bicycling skill, he slid his feet into straps that keep them from slipping off the pedals and rode up and down the street past his Lyons home.

Depending on the weather, he trains on one of the three events every evening.

Hammer works full time from home as a computer research assistant for Business Technology Career Opportunities Inc. of Wichita.

Since he entered the triathlon, his training has become a personal goal.

"I don't know what to expect," Hammer said. "I'll be excited just to have gone through it."